Published
Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 21:20
- Bootsy Collins shared news of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee's death via Instagram.
Calvin Simon, one of the founding members of American funk group Parliament-Funkadelic, has passed at 79.
Born on May 22nd, 1942, in West Virginia, he spent his early years singing with his church choir for weekly radio broadcasts. As a teen his family moved to New Jersey, where he worked at a barbershop and joined the Parliaments, a doo-wop quintet that Simon founded with fellow barbers George Clinton and Grady Thomas, and customers Ray Davis and Fuzzy Haskins.
The crew, which later shortened their name to Parliament, added more members, and through its many iterations, explored a vast array of genres, encompassing R&B, acid-rock and funk. Before he ultimately left the band due to financial disputes in 1977, Simon's vocals featured on Parliament albums Mothership Connection and Funkentelechy vs. The Placebo Syndrome, as well as Funkadelic LPs Maggot Brain and Cosmic Slop. 20 years later, Prince inducted him into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame alongside 15 other Parliament-Funkadelic members.
"Rest in peace to my P-Funk brother Mr. Calvin Simon. Longtime Parliament-Funkadelic vocalist. Fly on Calvin!" George Clinton said in a Facebook post. On Instagram, Bootsy Collins, who joined Funkadelic in 1972, said, "We lost another original member of Parliament/Funkadelic. A friend, bandmate and a cool classic guy, Mr. Calvin Simon was a former member of Parliament-Funkadelic. He's in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, inducted in 1997 with 15 members of P-Funk! R.I.P."
In the 2000s, Simon shifted gears and began recording gospel music, leading to his debut solo album, Share The News. Not long after that record's release, he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, which he survived after undergoing throat surgery.
"Initially it was a shock, as it took my voice away," Simon explained on his website. "It was while I was preparing for a tour to promote my first christian album, Share The News (which had just reached 21 on the Billboard Gospel Albums chart) when I realized there was a problem. Since the cancer was in the thyroid against my vocal cords, I was certain my music career was over and at this point I walked away from music. Apparently God had other plans and had enough forethought to know I needed to be home at that time."
Simon released two other solo albums before his death: 2016's It's Not Too Late and 2018's I Believe.
Read Bootsy Collins' post in full.